ffl€£T€RNAL£ULOGY 



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VINA CORDELIA BUCK 




Class 

Book 

Copyright N?._ 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2011 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/eternaleulogyOObuck 



THE ETERNAL EULOGY 



THE ETERNAL EULOGY 

BY 

NINA CORDELIA BUCK 




BOSTON 

RICHARD G. BADGER 

THE GORHAM PRESS 



Copyright, 1920, by Nina C. Buck 



All Rights Reserved 

ft°* 






Made in the United States of America 



The Gorham Press, Boston, U. S. A. 

MAY - i 1920 
©CU586803 



TO THE MEMORY OF MY BELOVED FATHER 

CHARLES FRANCIS BUCK 

WHOSE LIFE AND DEATH HAVE BEEN 
MY GREATEST INSPIRATION 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Inspiration u 

I Want to Sing of God 12 

Crossing the Alps 13 

Old Father Time 14 

Solace 15 

A Lonely Heart 16 

Nature's Call 17 

"The Rich and Poor Alike Belong to God" . . 18 

Love Latent 19 

Song of Autumn 20 

Recompense 21 

The Lament 22 

Worship 24 

The Forest 25 

A Forest Stream 26 

Lost Divinity 27 

The Natural Heart 28 

My Garden 29 

Aspiration 31 

7 



8 Contents 



Success 32 

Springtime Hope. 33 

My Prayer 34 

A Mountain Brook 35 

Shades Past and Future 36 

Enjoy Now 37 

Children at Play 38 

Dawn 39 

Immortality 40 

The Ladder of Years 41 

Night 42 

To My Father 43 

Death 44 

The City of the Dead 45 

The Rose .46 

It was a Weathered Cottage 47 

A Storm 48 

Today the World's a Fairyland 49 

The True Church .50 

On Deck at Night 51 

Niagara . 52 



THE ETERNAL EULOGY 



INSPIRATION 

Once as I gazed upon the star-laid deep, 

And thought of God and longed to have a peep 

At Heaven's mysteries, my wondering soul 

Grew sad and large with yearning till my whole 

Being cried to utter praise. Tears rose; 

I thought if only I were one of those 

Who in great poesy have nobly sung 

The glories of creation ! How has rung 

My heart since then to find expression meet 

For things too deep for thought yet still replete 

To stir emotion! Now at last it seems 

A flood-gate has been opened, and there teems 

Such tide of words to pour adoring laud 

I tremble lest I should offend Thee, God. 



II 



The Eternal Eulogy 



I WANT TO SING OF GOD 

I want to sing of God. O soul presumptuous 
That dares to choose a theme so far beyond 
Its powers! And yet, O Lord, it is my heart 
That seeks, as Miriam's did, to humbly bring 
Pure laurels to Thy throne. Ah, how would the 
Pygmean race of men attain giant strength 
Of soul, if using eyes and ears Thou hast given, 
They'd reap the holy lessons of Thy Truth! 
How lost are these to some, despite the voices 
Clear that speak with quiet majesty. 

For towering cliffs, the dark abyss of night, 
Great ocean's breadth, wild storms, proclaim, O 

Lord, 
Thy glorious Might; the freshly budding rose, 
Sweet babes new-born, and birds that sing on 

boughs, 
Thy Love; while in the falling rain and drop 
Of dew, the lucent trickle of a bubbling 
Spring, one reads Thy Purity. And how 
Thy Peace and Joy declare themselves in great 
Munificence of lovely things: the glow 
Of iridescent sunset and the dawn, 
Aurora borealis and the arch 
That comes and goes in glory after rain! 
While now and then a speeding meteor says 
To listening men, "Like this thy soul. O come 
And follow on thy way toward Home!" 
12 



The Eternal Eulogy 



CROSSING THE ALPS 

O mighty ranges of majestic peaks, 
Clothed angel-like in raiment glistening white, 
Or somber garbed in brown of crags whose height 
Is spent in distance, how thy grandeur speaks 
As naught before! My soul enraptured seeks 
To render praise: then pondering sin, how tight 
My heart draws cords of yearning for a light 
To conquer wrong, with which the great world 

reeks. 
For in thy far-spread beauty seems a link 
Twixt man and Heaven — the mystic symbols 

plain 
To all who read with open heart and think 
On sanctity. Yet oh, the evil stain 
Remains, and sordid men still spurn thy brink 
Of holiness which, beckoning, gleams in vain! 



13 



The Eternal Eulogy 



OLD FATHER TIME 

Old Father Time, what turmoil hast thou known 

Upon this ancient earth since first was sown 

The human race! Canst thou not clearer teach 

Ennobling aims to man whose usual reach 

Is blunted and obscure? Or is it still 

The wise Creator's wish that thou shouldst fill 

Each day, each year, each century with skeins 

Of tangled weal abstrusely brought? — The rains 

Of storms reveal a purer tinge of all 

Dust covered green, e'en though fair roses fall 

Throughout their fury: So perhaps dark wrong 

Is sent to chasten while it drives a prong 

Of pain in sufr'ring, bleeding hearts. — Meanwhile, 

O Time, as quick thou mark'st thy patient dial 

With passing moments of our juggling lives, 

Be not like one who with a foe connives, 

But help us better free the fettered soul 

That baffled struggles through its complex role. 



The Eternal Eulogy 



SOLACE 

Dost thou hear a moaning? 
Ah, it is the groaning 
Of souls steeped in burdens 
Given them to bear. 

Dost thou hear a sighing? 
Oh, it is the crying 
Of hearts crushed in sorrows, 
Lifting up their woe. 

Hark! Dost hear a singing? 
'T is the heavens ringing, 
Sending quick the solace, 
Peace and love from God. 



15 



The Eternal Eulogy 



A LONELY HEART 

A self-made hermit dwelling all alone 
Is scarce more isolate than I, who prone 
To love am love denied. Do I atone 
Some former callous state, some wrong unknown ? 
Still I love God. 

In loneliness I wander here and there 
And grudge sometimes the happiness to spare 
Mongst mortals overblessed. Ah, do not dare 
To mourn — be thankful for thy spirit's share 
To walk with God. 

When days are filled with dreariness and pain, 
And cruel injustice rends thy heart in twain, 
O soul, let not the outward fetters chain: 
Rise from the bonds and inward joy gain. 
Trust in thy God. 



16 



The Eternal Eulogy 



NATURE'S CALL 

Has not thy spirit ever felt the call 
To rest beside a gentle forest stream 
And let it purl sweet music to thy dream 
Of chastened life and end of worldly thrall: 
To watch the tinted leaves of autumn fall 
Like kisses soft on rippling lips that gleam, 
While wistfully thou mournest joys that seem 
All tangled in a swarthy, tainted pall? 
Oh, if thou canst, thus loiter on the brink 
Of lucent waters, babbling tuneful sound, 
And let thy darkened mind no longer think 
Of human wrongs and selfish aims, earth-bound 
Let forest odors and the music sink 
Deep in thine heart — 't is so that God is found. 



17 



The Eternal Eulogy 



"THE RICH AND POOR ALIKE BELONG 
TO GOD" 

Thou aged woman who dost slowly plod 
With halting tread this steeply rough ascent — 
Thy tired back with heavy burden bent — 
Thou sham'st me as I ride: yet there's a clod 
Lies pressing, too, upon my heart, though rod 
Of Fate appears to touch me light. 5 T is meant 
That each must bear some trial from Heaven 

sent — 
"The rich and poor alike belong to God." 
To me, about thee gleams a halo bright: 
Like glow-worm, lambent creature of the soil, 
In covert gliding almost out of sight, 
Which not forgot in brilliant rushing moil 
Of greater life, but blessed with its own light, 
Shines sanctified spite of its lowly coil. 



18 



The Eternal Eulogy 



LOVE LATENT 

And hast thou dared to derogate my love 
And call it idle dreaming — 

Nothing more — 
Because reserve hath given it a seeming 

Dearth of warmth, 
And Love's deep stir of motion? 

O hast thou looked upon the resting sea, 
With all its pulses sleeping, 

Calmly bright, 
And yet not known an unseen power was 
creeping — 

Strong and fierce — 
To burst its height in breakers? 

And when sometimes the air is heavily still, 
Among the leaves no rustling 

Stir of sound, 
Dost thou not feel there soon will be a bustling 

Current start 
Of storm unbound and maddened? 

Why then canst thou not understand a heart 
That smothers its wild beating — 

Hope restrained — 
And know that therein lies a latent greeting, 

If aroused, 
Would spring in joy to meet thee! 

19 



The Eternal Eulogy 



SONG OF AUTUMN 

Blow gently, winds, and ease my heart 
With the music thou dost make 
Mongst crisping leaves that loosened start 
And flutter as boughs shake. 

And thou, O pure and sparkling stream, 
Bear kindly on thy breast 
These gifts of Autumn, Spring's spent dream, 
Now sent to thee for rest. 

The tuneful sounds, the soothing flow 
Of ripples satin bright, 
Remind me Life like Earth should glow 
E'en with a lost delight. 



20 



The Eternal Eulogy 



RECOMPENSE 

Why lettest thou thy heart in sadness yearn 
For things that might have been, but now are lost? 
To all the beauties in the wide world turn, 
And know that grief with joy is ever crossed. 

Think how the sunshine scatters night's dark shade, 
And wak'ning birds their cheery music send; 
Behold the dew-kissed roses ere they fade, 
And with thy sorrow, soothing sweetness blend. 



21 



The Eternal Eulo&y 



THE LAMENT 

Soft from the sighing sea 

A ceaseless murmur is borne; 

Like a white robed choir the billows rise, 

And chant as with hearts care-worn. 

Is it for ships that are wrecked — 

Is it for souls that are lost — 
The breakers recede from the wave-lapped shore, 
Leaving tears there upon the sand. 

Low the waving forests 

A surging whisper send; 

Like arms in distress the branches toss, 

And pitying seem to bend. 

Is it for wanderers grown weary — 

Is it for those who despond — 
The boughs dip and quiver again and again, 
And leaves fall in silent despair. 

Loud from high -walled cities 

The moan of the sufferer ascends, 

And over the earth from cottage to crown 

With saddening power it trends. 

Oh, well may the sea shed tears — 

Oh, well may the forests wail — 
The winds and the waves only echo the cries 
Of hearts cruelly burdened with woe. 
22 



The Eternal Euloffy 



Hush! from Heaven's star-lit dome 

Now floats another voice; 

The sea grows calm at its soothing sound 

And the elements all rejoice. 

It is hope — it is hope for a troubled world- 
It is solace for harassed souls — 

The shadow of sorrow recedes from the earth, 

And a radiant gladness appears. 



23 



The Eternal Eulogy 



WORSHIP 

Surrounded by great ice-bound cliffs I stand 
And gaze upon high summits where the sheen 
Of evening, ethereal, is seen 
Transmuting snow to glory. Near at hand, 
Across rough tumbled rocks and bedded sand, 
A small rude shrine is lonely built that e'en 
Draws pious worshippers, mong peasants mean, 
In sight of God's own altars, nobly grand. 
Far from me to deride the simple heart 
That brings devotion to this uncouth fane: 
Yet still must I abhor, and pained, quick start 
From ugliness to beauties that contain 
Deep lessons of divinity, with part 
Of God's true, holy essence rendered plain. 



24 



The Eternal Eulogy 



THE FOREST 

Sweet was that first enchanting hour 
I penetrated deep 
A solemn, shadowy forest trail 
Where ferns and mosses sleep. 

While massed trees soared and thickets lay 

Widespread in worship meek, 

I quiet between in reverence stood 

And let my whole heart speak. 

The surging rustle of the leaves 
Came as a soft reply, 
Sublimely whispering holy thoughts 
Responsive to my sigh. 

Ah, then it seemed I was a soul 
Of extinct primal race, 
Breathing freedom, peace and love 
Direct from Heaven's grace! 



25 



The Eternal Eulogy 



A FOREST STREAM 

How beautiful thou art, O winding stream, 
That glidest through this forest like a dream 
Of Nature, who hath laid no barring rock 
To spoil thy quiet charm nor rudely mock 
Thy peace with sudden agitation. Fair 
Thy banks with lily-pads which kindly share 
Thy varied strand with beaches of white sand 
That gleam in nooks where silken rushes stand. 
While dense above, green meshes line thy way 
Of shrubs and moss-hung trees, where copious stray 
Close twining vines, all which protecting bend 
Low o'er thy waters as they onward trend. 
At night, when soft the moon from throne on high 
Sends over all a lustrous veil, which nigh 
A holy spectre seems, that glistening spreads 
His benison o'er earth as light he treads, 
Thou art sublime, so that one calmly drifts 
In contemplation pure which high up-lifts: 
Till noise of clamorous insects and dull base 
Of croaking frogs arouse, and roughly chase 
In earthly issue all the dreamy leaven 
That caused the soul to float in joy toward Heaven ! 



26 



The Eternal Eulogy 



LOST DIVINITY 

A noble piece of work indeed is man, 
With divers chaste endowments godlike made, 
Yet how these super qualities oft fade, 
Enveloped in a grappling pall that can 
Each good assail and every blessing ban: 
In which sweet truth and honor grow decayed, 
And hearts intended lofty, pure, and staid 
Sink sullied as in clutch of demon clan! 
Oh, why does man not move in steady stream 
Like stars and flowers that unswerving hold 
Their beauty and divinity supreme: 
Not let inherent holiness be sold 
For earthly lust, an evanescent dream, 
Forgetting the divine, immortal mould! 



27 



The Eternal Eulogy 



THE NATURAL HEART 

Toward a theater vestibule aflare 
With shimmering, ostentatious light that seemed 
To flaunt a triumph over day, there streamed 
A gorgeous maze of folk. Above the stair 
I stood and marked the silks and jewels rare 
That clothed this garish host so that it gleamed 
Unnatural; while copiously there teemed 
From rustlings soft, dull perfumes through the 

air. 
"O primal Life, entombed in guileful art!" 
The pessimist in me deplored with heat; 
Then soft, a strain of music made me start 
And thrill: the optimist quick rushed to meet 
The change: "No, in this sham a natural heart 
Burns sentient still — laughs, weeps, with every 

beat." 



28 



The Eternal Eulogy 



MY GARDEN 

My garden is a home of joy supreme, 

A part of Eden, lest I falsely dream, 

Where one forgets sad crime and all that mars 

Earth's quiet beauty — pains and sores and scars 

Of souls grown torpid in lethargic coil 

Of trifling aims or gyres of weary toil: 

All breathes sweet peace and aspiration high, 

With Godlike things beneath a Godgiven sky. 

For here are trees of noble height, and grace, 
And flowering shrubs enclosing paths that trace 
Their way to bowers fresh, or rocky nooks 
Made cool by trickling springs and wand'ring 

brooks. 
Besides are spaces, softly smooth and green, 
Where Heaven's blue, unblemished and serene, 
Is stretched to view, unfurling calm and rest 
To battling hearts, with grief or wrong oppressed. 

In day-time when o'er all the sunshine plays 
And sifts each tree and vine to seek free ways 
Of flecking cloistered turf, sequestered pools 
Or paths betwixt entangled void of rules, 
29 



The Eternal Eulogy 



I go with books to study and to think 
There all alone, and deep in pleasure sink; 
While birds with friendly twitter flutter round, 
And rustling leaves lisp soft and soothing sound. 

But in the twilight I love most to rove 
The open spaces, there to look above 
The bronzing trees toward sunset's lambent gold; 
To watch the silvery moon of cresent mould 
Slip slowly down the shimmering western wall; 
Then greet each starry gleam that seems to fall 
In place like soldiers from a camp on high, 
Guarding more and more the darkening sky. 
Ah, then toward Heaven does my spirit flee — 
Or, glorified, do I draw Heaven to me? 



30 



The Eternal Eulogy 



ASPIRATION 

It was the pensive merging hour 
When earth and heaven blend 
In veiling mist and lambent hues 
The parting sun doth lend. 

With slow and halting step I climbed 
A rugged valley road, 
Then paused to breathe the freshness 
Where a purling brooklet flowed. 

Afar, between the darkening hills, 
A straggling hamlet slept, 
While from its breast a soaring spire, 
High-reaching, firmly crept. 

Undaunted, from its lowly base 
Attenuate it strained 
Up, up toward the lucent dome — 
A touch of glory gained. 

Subdued yet thrilled I let my soul 
Soar with the slender streak, 
And prayed as surely I should rise 
To aims I humbly seek. 

3i 



The Eternal Eulogry 



SUCCESS 

O thou in the abyss of dark despair, 

Who griev'st thine heart with thoughts that thou 

hast failed, 
And dost thy moans let loose upon the air 
Like echoes from a gloomy cavern trailed: 
Within the light of tranquil reason ask 
If thou hast toiled with patient, steadfast course 
To reach the finished purpose of thy task, 
Nor shunned a single means thy powers could force. 
For then, rejoice — thy failure is success! 
Is it a failure for the half blown rose, 
Wind-tossed and scarred by ruthless, outward stress, 
To lose at last the beauteous goal it chose? 
If thou hast done thy best, then be not sad, 
But hold thine heart victorious and glad! 



32 



The Eternal Eulogy 



SPRINGTIME HOPE 

Thou dear enchantress of the solemn earth, 
Fair budding Spring, that swift transformest 

dearth 
Of joy to richest bounty! I must laugh 
This crystal morn; with thy pure nectar quaff 
New life and hope, while happily I stray 
Through woodland's tender mesh, or open way 
Of meadows softly decked in raiment sweet! 
Here every new-born leaf and flower I greet. 
For they are filled with this same hope I know, 
And thrilling, look upon the wondrous show 
Of Nature's art as prophecy replete 
Of their fruition: nor will they compete 
In envious struggle for ambition's goal, 
But quietly attain the finished whole 
As God intends it. So then, too, shall I 
Still building hope, as they do, pure and high, 
Contented move along my given path, 
Believing life a Heaven-led issue hath. 



33 



The Eternal Eulogy 



MY PRAYER 

I do not fear to die: I only pray 
That ere I go some deed I shall have wrought 
Right worthy of the gifts Thou hast conferred; 
That Thou at last shalt graciously bestow 
The praise, "Well done," upon Thy servant's 

task : 
Nor do I care what is the thought of those 
Who are so quick to flatter or to scorn. 



34 



The Eternal Eulogy 



A MOUNTAIN BROOK 

This mountain brook is like a life that teems 
With action, swift, unwearied, and awake 
To stirring need and passions deep that shake 
Its restless current free from supine dreams: 
With impulse bold and urgent force it streams 
O'er massive rocks that vainly try to make 
Its crystal waters falter as they take 
Their leaping course midst gloom no sun redeems. 
Yet with the wisdom of a man who knows 
That toil must have its respite to achieve, 
And can, with strength renewed, each pause re- 
trieve, 
At intervals, in limpid pools it slows 
Its vigorous haste, and seems to ponder well 
Wise counsels all the whispering thickets tell. 



35 



The Eternal Eulogy 



SHADES PAST AND FUTURE 

When I have roamed within the dusky halls 
Of dwellings century-old, or gazed on trees 
And vines in shadowy gardens where one sees 
Sharp traceries of age on walks and walls, 
A subtle charm subdues and then enthralls — 
Intangible, obscure, there flits and flees 
A spectre throng once resident there: with these 
My soul unites, to them my spirit calls. 
Yet here, within my new domain widespread, 
Fresh filled with beauty for myself and friends, 
This dreamy sweet communion with the dead 
Gives place to jealous pangs: the future sends 
Weird visions of strange men unborn who'll tread 
These loved paths : with them my heart contends ! 



36 



The Eternal Eulogy 



ENJOY NOW 

O Life, must thou go speeding by 
As swiftly as this sunset ray? 
It scarce did touch that budding rose 
And now has glided far away! 

What care those busy flitting bees, 
Emblazoned still in flooding light; 
They happily, o'er clover beds, 
Forget the near approaching night. 

And listen, there's a mocking-bird, 
Soft warbling on a gleaming bough 
Is it not speaking to my heart, 
Enjoy now! Enjoy now! 



37 



The Eternal Euloffy 



CHILDREN AT PLAY 

What ringing shouts are these that stir the air! 
Ah children, ye are monarchs of the earth, 
Thy realms o'erbrimmed with freedom and a mirth 
That spreads itself for all who wish to share. 
Thy laughter draws as Orpheus music fair, 
Bestowing precious comfort and new birth 
Of pleasure to replace unhappy dearth 
In saddened hearts deep holding pain or care. 
See how the sun smiles on thy merry play, 
Bright twinkling leaves nod from approving trees, 
Enlivened sparrows hop with aspect gay, 
And butterflies flit blithely on the breeze; 
While o'er me soft there steals a gladsome ray 
As part of thy sweet youth and joy I seize! 



38 



The Eternal Eulogy 



DAWN 

A pity 't is to lie asleep 
At pearly, new-made morn, 
And miss the dewy beauties born 
When from Night's shade they creep. 

There's inspiration in each blade 
Of grass or leaflet bright, 
While in the spreading, hallowed light, 
Ignoble passions fade. 

Exalted then one feels the breath 
Still left by Heaven's kiss, 
And reads in Earth's restored bliss 
The promises of death. 



39 



The Eternal Eulogy 



IMMORTALITY 

What matters that the hearts of men 
Are racked with torturing care? 
Sometime, somewhere, a greater life 
Is coming pure and fair. 

For immortality we strive, 
Not present's meager hold ; 
The soul must struggle as it seeks 
The empyrean gold. 



40 



The Eternal Eulogy 



THE LADDER OF YEARS 

I'm climbing the ladder of years, 
With each ascending round, 
Spite of burning tears, 
IVe joy found. 

Joy in doing right, 
Joy in spreading love: 
Ah, soon I'll see the light 
That gleams above. 

I'm climbing the ladder of years. 
Soon I'll reach the top, 
Leaving sorrow and fears, 
Before I stop. 

On I'm glad to plod, 
Searching better things; 
On to Thee, O God, 
Who glory brings. 



41 



The Eternal Eulogy 



NIGHT 

A moonbeam spreads its silver o'er my bed 
And lures me to the casement where I stand 
To reverence thee, O Night sublime! How- 
grand 
Thou art in thy grave splendor, yet dost shed 
Such mystic peace I almost hear the tread 
Of angels passing on thy shadowy strand 
While guarding mortals. Oh, to understand 
The messages thou sendest from the dead! 
For things substantial thou hast hidden in tints 
So somber scarce a definite outline shows: 
Thy mantle dim is pregnant with frail hints 
Of those I've lost: my longing spirit flows 
To theirs, as soft thy spectral moonlight glints, 
And whisperingly a gentle zephyr blows. 



42 



The Eternal Eulogy 



TO MY FATHER 

My Father, I am proud that I did spring 

From one whose great nobility of soul 

Exalted him above the lowly role 

That he seemed heir to. Ah, how Fate did bring 

Thee sorrows as a child that often ring 

Men's souls beyond redemption. Yet the whole 

Of thy young, lonely life stretched toward the goal 

Of honor and renown, thou true-born king! 

For thy great heart and mind shone out among 

Thy fellows. Wealth and fame still found thee 

meek: 
Like Christ divine, about thee there seemed flung 
The cloak of Wisdom and of Love to speak 
To all men's hearts. Thy memory has clung 
A hallowed thought: thy guidance still I seek. 



43 



The Eternal Eulogy 



DEATH 

Time was when I have feared the wondrous 

thought 
Of death. I shrank that I should go alone 
On paths of immortality unknown. 
But since thy quiet passing, death has brought 
Its glorious truths more plain. The lessons taught 
That Christ had died for me and would atone 
All sin were too remote. Now thou hast shown 
Death lovely: this poor knotted life as naught. 
Naught but a longing for a purer strand, 
A pushing of the inner self from ties 
Material toward a loving, unseen Hand 
Stretched ever greeting. As thy fading sighs 
Grew less, the Holy Ghost seemed near to stand 
In blessing, drawing thee to tranquil skies. 



44 



The Eternal Eulogy 



THE CITY OF THE DEAD 

This City of the Dead has come to be 

A place of hope and quiet ecstasy 

Since thou wert laid to rest. What beauties 

spread 
Around this solemn path I lightly tread! 
Gazing toward Heaven above the great 
Magnolia trees, whose lacquered leaves and late 
Remaining blooms of alabaster seem 
With holy light and hallowed peace to gleam, 
I pierce the shining azure of the skies: 
My heart strains into space, and yearning cries, 
"O Father, where art thou?" Thou seem'st 

awake 
And near. The answer comes as though thou 

spake 
From out God's Universe, along His path: 
"Here all is well — great joy my spirit hath!" 



45 



The Eternal Eulogy 



THE ROSE 

For days I watched a beauteous rose unfold 

Its creamy petals, velvet soft, and flushed 

As if its calyx proudly seemed to hold 

The sunset's bloom where it had gently brushed. 

Soon I shall pluck this lovely flower, methought, 

And lay it as an ofr'ring fair and pure, 

Upon the grave of him whose loss has wrought 

A painful void that I must ere endure. 

Then came a ragged urchin from the street, 

A pallid waif, of sad and anxious mien, 

With stealthy tread approached my treasure sweet, 

Bent, broke, and snatched — I staring, dumb, unseen. 

Reluctantly, I stood with bended head, 
While heart pangs eased, and eye restrained a tear; 
Should not the living come before the dead? — 
'T would be a double wrong to interfere: 
Wrong to this needy, craving soul that seeks 
In theft the beauty his poor fate denies; 
And wrong to him whose spirit surely speaks 
And bids me yield the culprit his fair prize. 
Go, boy — thy face deep buried in the rose — 
May all its perfumed loveliness abide 
Long in thine heart: a memory that glows 
With holy light, and proves thy Heavenly guide! 

46 



The Eternal Eulogy 



IT WAS A WEATHERED COTTAGE 

It was a weathered cottage that I passed, 
Yet roses climbed resplendent o'er its wall, 
And stately trees grew close, so proud and tall, 
It seemed as 't were a rugged gem held fast 
By things that knew its worth and, loving, cast 
Their affluent beauty, quite unmindful all 
Of lowly state, or penury's sad pall, 
Or sorrow keener than a wintry blast. 
'T is thus impartial Nature points the way 
To those enriched by fickle Fortune's nod; 
"O share thy store with all," she seems to say, 
"Nor spurn the poor who humbly toil and plod. 
All life is one though Fate divides the clay: 
All souls the same that truly serve their God." 



47 



The Eternal Eulogy 



A STORM 

Ah, is God angry with the unrighteous world? 
How dark it grows, and how great trees do bend 
With rushing wind that fiercer grows to rend 
Their mighty boughs! How frightened leaves are 

swirled 
About mute lawns, and in wild eddies twirled 
To dizziness! A ghostlike mist doth blend 
As if avenging angels ruthless send 
Their army gainst the earth, in fury hurled ! 
All night confusion lasts; dire travail shakes 
Till trees and dwellings fall, e'en life is lost: 
Then comes a wondrous peace! Sad earth awakes 
To find an azure sky above its tossed 
And fearful face! Subdued with awe, it takes 
A thankful breath, scarce knowing what has crossed. 



48 



The Eternal Eulogy 



TODAY THE WORLD'S A FAIRYLAND 

Today the world's a fairyland so fair 
I joy to live and breathe its diamond air 
So filled with balmy sweets. High emerald trees, 
Scintillant in a gently stirring breeze, 
Lean light against the turquoise sky, and blooms 
Of blossoming myrtle sweep their ruby plumes 
Below in witching splendor. The vista grows 
More lovely as I walk : the whole earth glows. 
Soon, charmed, I settle by a shimmering lake, 
And deep the dear enchantments raptured take 
Into my heart. The water's satin sheet 
Gleams quiet, and far within its cup there meet 
All hues and forms that are above, yet more 
Entrancing. As I dream upon the shore 
My soul expands in wonder at the powers 
Of Him who, like a Great Magician, showers 
Such plenitude of beauty: then it burns 
With highest praise, and hope that glowing turns 
To picture death, assured it e'en must be 
More filled with loveliness than all I see! 



49 



The Eternal Eulogy 



THE TRUE CHURCH 

I love the Gothic temples spired high, 

Italian fanes of marble richly wrought, 

Epitomes of man's religious thought 

And veneration mounting toward the sky. 

Fleeting generations rise and die, 

Yet still these stand sublime, as if they've caught 

Stability and grace from Heaven, and taught, 

Dumb messengers divine, that God is nigh ! 

But instinct warns God's true church is the heart, 

From whose quiet altars, hidden in vesture plain, 

Each sigh of adoration, or the smart 

Of patient pain, or of repentant stain 

Of sin, is wafted straight to Heaven — a part 

Of fervent Hope's continuous refrain. 



50 



The Eternal Eulogy 



ON DECK AT NIGHT 

Illimitable stretch of heaving sea, 
Empurpled in Cimmerian dark of night, 
Thou seemst within thy solemn, mystic might 
To hold the secret of infinity; 
While in the velvet dome that covers thee, 
Ablaze with myriad, trembling lamps alight — 
Fixed beacons of the Lord to paths of right — 
I read the legend of eternity. 
Eternity! The comprehension fails 
At thought of thee! The yearning spirit wars 
With mundane snares: all world ambition pales. 
Great Universe — God's Home, and ours! — ■ 

Though bars 
Of error cramp my soul, Truth's goal it trails 
Enrapt, among the everlasting stars. 



5i 



The Eternal Eulogy 



NIAGARA 

Stupendous mass of seething emerald fair, 
That loses half itself in wraithlike pall, 
With what majestic splendor dost thou fall 
From thy great height and breadth! The trem- 
bling air 
Reverberates with thundering sound, for there 
Are myriad voices in thy waters, all 
Roaring loud an endless, ponderous call 
To proud, presumptuous men: "Beware — beware!" 
Thou seem'st a part of things divine but lent 
To finite earth: Oh, may thy wondrous show 
Of airy beauty and of power be spent 
In elevating souls toward the glow 
Of Truth eternal, God's supreme intent, 
Which in good time He'll lead us all to know! 



52 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: Sept. 2009 

PreservationTechnologles 



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